Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and five members of staff were recognized during the recently held Kenya Education Network (KENET) Awards in recognition of their exemplary contributions to research, innovation, and digital advancement. The University also emerged as the second-ranked institution nationally in research productivity weighted against the number of researchers, underscoring JKUAT’s strong research output and impact.
KENET, the National Research and Education Network of Kenya supports collaboration, research engagement, and innovation among member institutions through grants, capacity building initiatives, and awards aimed at promoting excellence in higher education and research.
In the awards, Dr. Keren Kaberere was recognized as the top performer in the Computer Science and/or Engineering category. Prof. Mwangi Waweru and Dr. Michael Kimwele emerged third and second, respectively, in the Special Interest Group (SIG) Computer Science category for scholarly output.
Ms. Joyline Gichuki emerged third in the Materials Science category, while Prof. Kenneth Ngure was recognized under the SIG Medicine category. All awards were determined using Scival–Scopus, a research analytics tool that evaluates scholarly output and impact using data from Scopus, one of the largest databases of peer-reviewed literature. KENET used this platform to objectively assess research performance for the 2022–2024 period.
The awards were celebrated during the University Management Board (UMB) meeting on 15 December 2025, led by Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Wambui Ngumi, who lauded the outstanding performance of the University and its staff saying “The outstanding performance emphasizes JKUAT’s significant contributions to research, innovation, and academic excellence.”
Prof. Ngumi further said the awards recognize outstanding achievements and inspire continued excellence in research, innovation, and digital advancement, reinforcing JKUAT’s leadership in academic and scientific excellence.
“These awards highlight the university’s significant contributions to research, innovation, and academic excellence, while also motivating continued high performance and reinforcing JKUAT’s leadership in research and scientific achievement,” said the Vice Chancellor.
